Rail anchor



April 9, 1929.

J. H. LARMONTH RAIL ANCHOR 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed April 14, 192'? f m W# 2 Z 6 M X C 5 April 1929. I J. H. LARMONTH 1,708,477

RAIL ANCHOR Filed April 14, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v mien/or I E6.- 5 John/7f Larmoh/b flier/my Patented Apr. 9, 1929,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. LARMONTH, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA. 7

RAIL ANCHOR.

Application filed 'April 14,

provide an anchor formed in one piece from a single straight strip or ribbon of material. A further object is to provide an anchor of this type which will present a surface for abutment against a tie suflicient to avoid embedment of the anchor in the tie.

A still further object is to provide a onepicce anchor adapted to have embracing en gagement with one flange of a rail base at points spaced in the length thereof, whereby upon the anchor being thrust against a tie the anchor tends to be canted and very tightly grips the base flange which it embraces.

Another object is to provide a one-piece anchor of the same general appearance and having certain of the advantageous characteristics of the three-piece anchors and twopiece anchors disclosed in U. S. Patents No. 1,366,558, dated January th, 1921, and No. 1,602,751, dated October 12th, 1926, V to Cooper & Steadworthy; also in U. S. Patents No. 1,618,576, dated February 22nd, 1927, and i No. 1,682,370, granted the 28th August 1928 to F. WV. Cooper.

Various other objects and the advantages ofthe invention may be ascertained from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

The anchors disclosed in the patents already mentioned comprise essentially a U- shaped clamp or box member adapted to embrace one flange ofa rail base and a separate spring member looped at one end for co-operation with the box or clamp member and hooked at the opposite end to engage a rail base flange. The box or clamp members include arms each notched to embrace one flange of a rail base at points spaced in the length thereof and a web connecting corresponding ends of the arms thereby holding the same rigidly in proper relation to one another. The web is adapted to be disposed beneath a rail base to form a supporting seat for the looped end of the spring member which is shrouded between the arms of the box portion and is oom ressed between the seat and the bottom sur ace of the rail base, thereby imparting resiliency and having a tendency to expansive or reflex action adapted to draw the hooked end tightly 1927. Serial No. 185,431.

against the oppositebase flange, and at the same time to urge the box 'portion toward the base flange which it embraces.

Rail anchorsformed according to the pres- V ent invention each comprise essentially a U- shaped box portion and a spring member having a loop at one end. shrouded between the arms of the box portion and a hook at the.

opposite end adapted to engage the flange of a rail base opposite that engaged. by the box portion. The web of the box portion is preferably disposed between the upper ends of the arms and the looped end of the spring portion is formed as an integral continuation preferably from the lower end of and preferably from one only of the arms of the box portion, although other embodiments are possible.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention and minor modifications but to any or all of the details of which the invention is not confined as modifications may bemade Fig. 1 is ,a side elevation of an anchor formed according to this invention as it appears in position on a rail. Fig. 2 1s a side elevation of the reverse side of the anchor shown in Figure 1 in relaxed condition and further illustrating the method of applying same to a rail.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the anchor as seen from the looped 'end.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the anchor partly in section on the line 44 of Figure 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 3, illustrating a modification.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view similar-to Figure 1 illustrating a modification.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating a modified form of hook. 7 Referring more particularly to the drawings, '11 designates a rail base including a air of similar flanges 12. The anchor accor ing to this invention comprises a'box portion 13 adapted to engage one flange of the rail base and a spring portion 14 connected at one end to the box portion and adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base. The box portion comprises a pair of substantially parallel plates 15 and 16 connected at corresponding ends by a web portion 17 and each notched as at 18 to embrace one of the rail each of the plates and also the whole box is of one of the plates, for example, the plate 15. The plates 15 and 16 may be regarded as identical in size and shape. The spring memberis at its end adjacent the box twisted through approximately 90 from the plane of the plate 15 and is at the'same time bent through an angle of approximately 180 to form a loop 19, the twisting and bending being in such direction that the central portion of the spring member passes between the plates 15and occupies a plane substantially perpendicular to the planes of the plates. Beyond the loop 19, the spring member includes a substantially flat portion 20 adapted to bear on the under surface of a rail base and an arm portion 21 adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base terminating in an up turned hook 22 adapted to engage the edge of a rail base opposite that engaged by the box. The arm portion 21 may be so formed as to be spaced slightly beneath the central part of a rail base. The twist and the bend in the spring member are tosome extent coincident, so that the curvature at opposite edges of the spring member is different, as will be clearly seen in the drawings. In orderto avoid any outward projection of the plate 15 where the loop 19 commences, a comparatively sharp bend is necessary andjthis sharp bending may be facilitated by providing a notch or recess in the edge of the plate, as indicated a-t 23in Figure 6. The Web .17 may be substantially flat, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, or may be appreciably curved or embed, as shownat 17*, Figure 5. i The hook 22 may be formed straight from side to side of t'he arm, so as to'bear throughout its width upon-the edge of the rail base, or may be curved as shown at 22*,F1gure 7 so as to bear upon the edge of the rail base onlyiat a point intermediate the edges of the arm.

, The notches 18 are so formed that, when the anchor is in position on a rail, the edges of the plates are inclinedto any suitable degree,

for example, to the degree shown in the drawings, but it will be understood that the 'inven' tion is not limited to the particular inclination shown, which may be varied to any extent desired. The projection of the loop 19 beyond the plates may be either less or more than shown, the amount depending upon the amount of resiliency desired, the length of "plate'projecting below the rail relative to the width of thematerial and also to some extent upon'the inclinationfof the plates. The loop "when relaxedis of a size to encroach somewhatupon'the path ofa rail base flange entering the notches 18, as clearly shown in Figure 2, so that the anchor must be forcibly applied and in this forcible application the loop will be compressed from the shape shown in Figure 2to that shown in Figure 1, thereby creating a tension in the spring member upon which the successful functioning of the anchor largely depends. It will also be observed by comparison of the full line relaxed position and the broken line operative position shown in Figure 2 that, in the relaxed condition of the anchor, the arm 21 lies at a slight upward inclination from the loop to the hook, so that in application the arm will be swung downwardly by the compression of the loop and will, in addition, be slightlyflexeddownwardlv at its free end, thus securing upward pressure ofthe free end of the arm against the lower surface of the rail base.

Application of the anchor to a rail is effec ed by passing the hooked end beneath the rail base until the edge of one base flange enters the notches 18 sufficiently to hold the anchor in' position. The box portion is then advanced on to the flange, preferably by striking with hammer on the outer edge of the web. It will be observed that the box portion is more nearly perpendicularto the rail base in Figure 2 than in Figure 1. As the I box advances on to the baseiiange, the notches 18 which are shaped in conformity with the cross section ofthe rail base flange cause the box to swing tothe inclined position shown in Figure 1.1 During this swing, the

arm 21 is restrained by the'rail base from upward movement, so that itis virtually 'levered downward relatively to the box, thus tensioning the loop 19. At the same time, the

' loop is definitely compressed by the rail base,

thus increasing the tension. As thebex is advanced transversely of the rail base, the

,hookis of course similarly advanced and,

.fiexion of the arm 21. Preferably, the hook does not assume operative position as a result I of the driving on of the clamp but requires to be positioned by striking the back of the loop, so as to drive the hook past the edge of the railbase. Thispositioning of the hook still further tensions the loop 19 and causes the same to exert a retroactive effort which draws the hook very tightly against the edge of the rail base flange and, at the same time,

urges the box portion of the anchor to tighter gripping engagement with the rail base flange broken lines. As previously stated, the arm 3 a tie'is substantially equal to the available abutment area of the arm 16, so that either side of the anchor may be presented to a tie with equal avoidance of embedment in the tie. When the anchor is thrust against a tie by tendency to rail creepage, the box portion tends to be canted in the direction of rail length, thereby thrusting one plate upwardly against the base flange and drawing the other plate downwardly against the base flange, so as to increase the grip of the box portion on the base flange. The thrust against a tie also tends to cause a slewing effect, that is to say, a swing horizontally about the hook 22 as a centre. Any actual slewing which may occur increases the tension of the loop and therefore the transverse grip of the anchor on the rail base. Owing to the different curvatures at opposite edges of the loop, there will be in theory adifl'erence in the resistance to slewing according to the direction of the slewing but, in practice, this difference may be largely if not wholly offset by slightly curving the hook 22 in the direction of width of the arm 21, as shown in Figure 7, so as to keep the pivotal point of the slewing'approximately midway be tween the edges of the arm and avoid its shifting from one edge or the other according to the direction of the slewing. The desirability of curving the hook obviously is greater in the case of wide arms than in the case of narrow arms. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A rail anchor comprising a substantially straight-edged strip of metal bent at one end to engage one flange of a rail base and bent toward the opposite end to engage, at points spaced in the length of the strip, with the other flange of a rail base at two-points spaced in the length of the rail base.

2. A rail anchor comprisinga substantially straight-edged strip of metal formed with a pair of laterally extending spaced notches in one edge thereof and a hook at one end adapted to engage one flange of a rail base, the said strip being bent to position the notches thereof for the reception of spaced portions of the other flange of a rail base.

3. A rail anchor comprising a substantially straight-edged strip of metal hooked at one end for engagement with one flange of a rail base, said strip being bent intermediate its ends to form a resilient loop and being further bent to provide portions on opposite sides of the loop adapted to engage the other flange of a rail base at points spaced in the length of the flange.

4. A rail anchor comprising a substantially straight-edged strip of metal formed toward one end with a pair of laterally extending spaced notches in one edge thereof and hooked at the opposite end to engage one flange of a rail base, the said strip being bent intermediate its ends to provide a resilient loop and further bent to dispose the notched portions on opposite sides of the loop and in position to receive the other flange of the rail base in the notches thereof.

5. A rail anchor comprising a strip of metal formed toward one end to extend lengthwise above and below a rail base to engage edgewise with one flange of a rail base at points spaced in the length thereof, the said strip being bent to form a resilient loop, and an arm. adapted to extend transversely beneath the rail base and a hook at the end of the arm adapted to engage flatwise of the strip with the other flange of the rail base.

, 6. A rail anchor comprising a strip of metal formed toward oneend with a pair of laterally extending spaced notches in one edge thereof shaped in conformity with the cross section of a rail base flange, the said stripe being bent intermediate the notches thereof to locate the notches for reception of portions of a rail base flange spaced in the length thereof, the said strip being bent to form a resilient loop and an arm adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and a hook bent flatwise from the strip adapted to engage the other flange of a rail base.

7. A rail anchor comprising a strip of metal formed with a pair of spaced notches in one edge thereof, said strip being bent intermediate the notches to substantially U- form and to locate the notches in position to receive portions of a rail base flange spaced in the length thereof, said strip being bent to looped form beyond the notches thereof and adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and hooked to engage the other flange of a rail base.

8. A rail anchor comprising a strip of metal formed toward one end with a pair of notches spaced inone edge thereof, said strip being bent to substantially U-form between the notches thereof to provide a pair of spaced arms of unequal length adapted to receive one flange of a rail base in the notches thereof and adapted in operation to be disposed in substantially parallel planes substantially perpendicular to the plane of a rail base, the longer of said arms being bent to form a loop and awportion beyond the loop adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base and to occupy a plane substantially .parallel'with .the plane. of the rail base, and a hook at the extremity of-said strip adapted to engage the other'flange of the rail base.

9.. A rail anchor formed of a single strip of material comprising a pair of arms each notched to embrace one flange of a rail base, 7

a a web connecting the arms and an extension from one of said arms twisted through aproximatel T 90 and bent throu h a) )lOXlmately 180 and passing between and beyond thearms, and a hook at the extremity of said extension adapted to engage the other flange of'a rail base.

' 10. A rail anchor formed of a single strip of material comprising a pair of substantially parallel arms of unequal length each notched to embrace one flange of a rail base, a web connecting corresponding ends of the arms,

the longer of said arms being bentto form a loop adapted to be compressed against the lower surface of'a rail base, and an arm adapted to be flexed and to thrust upwardly against the lower. surface of a rail base, and a hook at the extremity of said arm adapted to engage the edge of the other flange of a rail base and to be held in such engagement by the upward thrust of the arm.

11. A rail anchor formed of a single strip of material comprisinga pair of substantially parallel arms of unequal length each notched to embrace one flange of a rail base, a web connecting corresponding ends of the arms, the lon er of said arms being bent to form a loop adapted to be compressed against the lower surface of a rail base, and anarm adapted'to be flexed and to thrust upwardly against the lower surface of a rail base, and a hook at the end of said arm adapted to be engaged with the edge of the other flange of a rail base upon contraction of the loop and to be held in such engagement by expansive action of the loop and the upward thrust of the arm against the rail base.

12. 'A-rall anchor formed of a single strip ofmaterial comprising a pair of arms each notched to embrace one flange of a rail base,

to be-held' in such engagement, by the expanv sive effort of the loop.

"13. A rail anchor formed of a single strip of material comprising a pair of arms notched to embrace one flange of a rail base, a web connecting the arms, an extension fromone of the arms bent to pass between the arms and adapted to extend transversely beneath a rail base, and'a hook at the end of said extension adapted toengage the other flange of the rail base, the stripof material being notched at the junction of the extension'and arm carrying it to facilitate bending of the extension.

14. Arail anchor comprising a box portion to embracingly engage one flange of a rail base, and aspring portion including a loop adapted to be disposed within the-box portion beneath a rail base, an arm adapted to .extend transversely beneath the rail base, and

a hook at the extremity of said arm adapted to engage the edge of the other flange of a rail base, the lower portion of said loop being disposed at an incline in the direction of rail length. is

15. A rail anchor formed of a single strip of material including hooks to severally en gage the flanges ofa rail-base, a resilient loop disposed between the hooks'and adapted to be tensioned by compression against a rail base, thereby to hold the hooks in gripping engagement with the rail baseflanges.

16.. A rail anchor formed of a single strip of material formed to provide apair of hooks adapted to severally engage the flanges of a rail base,'and a loop disposed between the hooks, one of said hooksbeing adaptedforengagement with. one'of the base'fianges at points spaced in the direction of rail length on opposite sides ofthe point of engagement of the other hook. 1

17.' A railanchor formed of a single substantially straight-edged strip of material bent to engage a rail-base at three points spaced in the direction of rail length and to provide a resilient loop adapted to be tensioned upon operative assembly of the anchor on a rail to maintain the engagement.

18. A rail anchor formed of a single substantially straight-edged strip of material bent to engage a rail'ba'se at three points spaced 1n the length thereof, two of said points of engagement'being with one base flange. and the other point being with the other base flange intermediate the first two points of engagement, the said strip being further formed to provide a loop shrouded between the twoanchorportions engaging one base flange and to be tensioned by the engagement of the third anchor portion with the-otherbase flange,thereby to maintain engagement of the anchor with the rail.

19. A rail anchor formed of'a single strip of material of substantially uniform width comprising, a'box portion "to embrace one flange of a rail base and a spring portion passing throughthe box portion and hooked to engage the other flange of a rail base.

20. A rail anchorformed of a single initially straight strip of material of substan tially uniform width comprising, a box portion to embrace one flange of a rail base and a spring portion passing through the box portion and hooked to engage the other flange of a rail base.

21. A rail anchor formed of a single strip of material comprising a Ushaped box portion notched in the arms thereof to embrace one flange of a rail base, and a spring portion including a loop at one end to be disposed between the arms of the box portion and to be compressed between the box portion and the under surface of a rail base, an arm to extend transversely beneath a rail base, and a hook at the opposite end of the spring portion to engage the edge of the other base flange and to be held in such engagement by the tension of the compressed loop.

22. A rail anchor formed of a single initially substantially straight-edged strip of material bent to engage edgewise with one flange of a rail base at two points spaced in the length of the rail and to engage flatwise with the other flange of the rail base.

23. A rail anchor formed of a single ini-' tially substantially straight-edged strip of material bent to engage edgewise at two points spaced in its length with one flange of a rail base and to engage flatwise with the other flange of the rail base.

24. A rail anchor formed of a single bar of metal comprising a portion toextend lengthwise above and below one flange of a rail base and to engage the edge of the said flange, a loop and an arm to extend from the loop transversely beneath the rail base and hooked at its free end to engage the edge of the other flange of the rail base, the said arm being bent between the loop and its hooked extremity in a manner to compel flexion of the arm in application to a rail with tendency to straighten the arm, thereby to cause the hook to hug the base flange edge independently of resiliency of the loop.

25. A rail anchor composed of a single bar of metal comprising a portion to extend lengthwise above and below one flange of a rail base and formed to engage the edge of the said flange and to resist downward movement relatively to the flange, a loop springing from the lower end of said first named portion adapted to be compressed against the bottom of the rail base, and an arm extending from the loop transversely of the rail base booked at its free end to engage the edge of the other base flange, said arm being bent upwardly thereby to be downwardly flexed in application to a rail and to thrust upwardly at its free end against the under surface of the rail base independently of any upward thrust arising from compression of the loop.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN H. LARMONTH. 

